J. Peter Pham on Religion and the New Africa

August 8, 2014

Leaders from dozens of African nations came to a summit in Washington this week where they discussed health challenges, security, and economic development. President Obama called for more joint partnerships, saying the US has a moral obligation to support Africa’s progress. Despite all the headlines about Ebola and other problems, former Vatican diplomat J. Peter Pham, director of the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center, told managing editor Kim Lawton he believes it’s time for a different narrative: “There is an emergent Africa, an increasingly confident Africa politically, economically, and religiously, and hopefully we begin to take a look at the new Africa beyond our usual lenses of Africa with its hand out in need of rescuing by outsiders.”